UK consumers keener than US shoppers online

Britons are the world’s fastest eCommerce adopters, preferring to buy a significant number of items online as opposed to in-store, reports The Register. Author: Chris Taylor

Britons are the world’s fastest eCommerce adopters, preferring to buy a significant number of items online as opposed to in-store, reports The Register.

Research from financial services firm KPMG found that six in ten used the web to order their groceries, and nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) went online to book flights or holidays.

In contrast, just 21 per cent of US consumers would go online for their grocery shopping, while the same amount booked holidays online.

As well as food and holidays, several other industries stood out as the most popular for British shoppers. Over 75 per cent of UK shoppers preferred to buy items like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online, compared to 65 per cent of global shoppers.

KPMG’s figures certainly seem to favour some shopping sectors more than others, which may encourage those without online payment processing services to invest in ecommerce solutions.

However, the data also showed that there are some activities that Britons seem more reluctant to conduct away from the comfort of their PCs.

Despite the ubiquity of smartphones, only 21 per cent of those polled said that they had used mobile banking within the six months, compared with 52 per cent globally.

KPMG’s European head of technology, Tudor Aw, told BBC News that the results show consumers are “increasingly reliant on a range of technologies that perform important – yet often overlapping – tasks.” As a result, “this new ‘converged lifestyle’ will have huge implication for retailers.”